State Senator: AR Treasurer Martha Shoffner Should Resign
By:
Updated: January 7, 2013
State Sen. Jason Rapert is calling on embattled Arkansas Treasurer Martha Shoffner to resign.
Shoffner, who sources say is under investigation by the federal government, will not speak with KARK regarding questionable bond dealings that landed her in the hot seat with state lawmakers.
"The behavior of the state Treasurer, under the circumstances makes us all uncomfortable, I do not get the feeling we are getting the full story out of what occurred in the state Treasurer's office," Rapert said.
An audit last year revealed Shoffner's office sold some bonds before they matured and ended up losing money. The audit also found she steered $100 million in bond deals to an St. Bernard, an Arkansas-based firm, and only $25 million in bond trades to other firms that were offering the same yield.
Lawmakers in September 2012 had to subpoena Shoffner in order to get her to testify. She was unable to explain her decisions and lawmakers ordered state auditors to dig deeper.
The second audit showed eight transactions through St. Bernard resulted in a net economic loss of $783,825.
Shoffner was again unable to explain herself at a second hearing in December 2012 when the results of that second audit were made public.
As a result, lawmakers asked federal and state law enforcement to investigate.
The Department of Justice's policy is to neither confirm or deny whether it is conducting an investigation.
Shoffner, who sources say is under investigation by the federal government, will not speak with KARK regarding questionable bond dealings that landed her in the hot seat with state lawmakers.
"The behavior of the state Treasurer, under the circumstances makes us all uncomfortable, I do not get the feeling we are getting the full story out of what occurred in the state Treasurer's office," Rapert said.
An audit last year revealed Shoffner's office sold some bonds before they matured and ended up losing money. The audit also found she steered $100 million in bond deals to an St. Bernard, an Arkansas-based firm, and only $25 million in bond trades to other firms that were offering the same yield.
Lawmakers in September 2012 had to subpoena Shoffner in order to get her to testify. She was unable to explain her decisions and lawmakers ordered state auditors to dig deeper.
The second audit showed eight transactions through St. Bernard resulted in a net economic loss of $783,825.
Shoffner was again unable to explain herself at a second hearing in December 2012 when the results of that second audit were made public.
As a result, lawmakers asked federal and state law enforcement to investigate.
The Department of Justice's policy is to neither confirm or deny whether it is conducting an investigation.
